Western Publishing Building

 office building, 1962_construction, commercial building, International style architecture

268-foot, 21-story International-style office building completed in 1962. Designed by Emery Roth & Sons, it is clan in an aluminum and reflective glass curtain wall. It is very similar in massing and materials to the Roth-designed building across the street at 845 Third Avenue. The ground floor is clad in black polished granite and has a central main entrance on the avenue, with two sets of revolving doors set in a glass wall and covered by a metal canopy. To either side are storefronts. On the south facade on 51st Street, storefronts continue at the east end; further west is the NYPD 17th Precinct, and the FDNY Engine 8/Ladder 2/Battalion 8 fire station is at the west end. The narrower north facade on 52nd Street has one storefront bay at the east end; the rest of the ground floor is a plain granite wall, with two loading docks and a service entrance at the west end.

The upper floors have thin aluminum mullions and black aluminum spandrel panels between floors. The windows alternate single-panes with windows divided vertically into three panes, with smaller, operable panes in the middle. The 3-part windows are staggered on each floor. The wedding-cake massing of the building has a setback on all three main facades above the 11th floor, with additional setbacks above the 13th and 16th floors. There is a mechanical level at the top, with black metal vents in place of windows. Besides the lobby, fire station, and police station, the ground floor is occupied by a Chase Bank branch.